Tool of the day: CrossLoop

My Mother-in-Law got a shiny new HP laptop and naturally I was glad to tweak and tune it for her. We were in town at the time, so I had physical access to the machine. However, my time with the physical computer would end up being relatively short, as we were head out on a flight later tonight.

So, rather than attempt to fully configure her laptop, I thought I would instead focus on installing a remote access solution. That way, I could tweak things from the comfort of Washington, DC - all without having repeatedly ask: "OK, now read me what's on the screen..."

In the past, I've used - and loved - showmypc.com. It's one of the easiest and streamlined ways I know of to get access to a remote user's desktop.

I was considering signing up for their $5/month remote solution, which would allow me to access my Mother-in-Law's computer without her needing to do anything (and yes, I would completely behave myself). But, I thought that may be overkill.

Instead, I installed CrossLoop on her system. CrossLoop is actually a marketplace where you can find folks to help you with your computer. I have yet to use their service. Though, they offer free remote access software, which you can use even if you don't use the marketplace.

I've found their remote solution to be lightweight, and nice and easy to use. To use it, all my Mother-in-Law will need to do is click on the desktop icon I put in place for her, and select the share option.

As an added bonus, the CrossLoop community may actually come in handy for her, serving to tackle issues that are over my head.

Anybody have any CrossLoop experiences they'd like to share? If their service is anywhere near as good as their tools, then they're really on to something.